How to dry strawberries

Adding dried strawberries to your diet adds many health benefits to it, and although drying causes the strawberries to lose their liquids, it maintains their nutritional value as is, and they are dried after cutting them into slices on a baking tray and placing them in the oven for up to 24 hours depending on the size of the pieces, and we will mention more details during the article.

• Things to do for strawberries before drying them:
  Here are the most important things you should do for strawberries before drying them:

Remove the green leaves and the top of the strawberries before
drying them.

Wash the strawberries with cold water, then place them in a strainer for a few minutes until they dry from excess water.

Make sure to dry the strawberries well from water before drying them; because excess moisture in them increases their drying time.

Cut the strawberries into slices or halves with a sharp knife, making sure that the pieces are the same size and thickness; so that all the pieces dry together.

Strawberry drying methods:

1. Drying strawberries in the oven:

If you want to get dried strawberry slices using the oven, you must follow these steps:

• Place the strawberry slices in a baking tray lined with parchment paper, with the peel side down (if the strawberries are cut in half), then put them in the oven at a temperature ranging between 54.5-60 degrees Celsius.
• Leave them in the oven until they dry and become completely free of moisture. If you cut them into halves, it may take 24-36 hours, and if you cut them into slices, it takes between 7-15 hours.

Leave them to cool completely (about half an hour) after they dry, then put them
in tightly sealed containers.

2. Drying strawberries in the sun:

You can dry strawberries in the sun without the need for any special tools or equipment, as fruits that contain sugars can be

Dried in the sun easily as follows:

• Prepare a reflective surface on a grid that allows air to pass through, and you can use sheets made of tin or aluminum as a reflective surface to reflect heat and speed up the strawberry drying process.

Resistant
Make sure that the drying grid is made of stainless steel, and avoid using a grid made of aluminum because it changes the color of the fruit, and you should also avoid using a grid made of copper because it increases the oxidation of the strawberries.

• Cut the strawberries into slices about half a centimeter apart, then place them on the drying grid and leave spaces between them, and make sure that the grid is clean.
• Cover them with a piece of cotton cloth to protect them from dust and insects, then place the drying rack under the sun for 3 days until they are completely dry, and do not forget to turn the strawberry slices between the second

or third day.

3. Drying Strawberries in an Air Fryer: